During the following days, whenever she was not busy with chores, Kaori did nothing else but using her phone to check Shimoto’s page, finding out she studied accountability and now worked at the financial team in a company. She also traveled everywhere, she even spent her last year holidays in Shanghai, all by herself! Kaori couldn’t even take the family car to go outside town and her old friend had traveled so far. Even if their lifes where so different, she was amazed at the experiences Shimoto had during all these years. But more than that, Kaori couldn’t stop looking at the woman herself. It was incredible that the young girl she hung out so much with at highschool had turned into such a wonderful and beautiful woman. Whenever she thought that, she blushed:

-Sure, she’s pretty, but that doesn’t mean anything! I mean, look at her! She looks so great! Who could even doubt it?- Kaori told herself nervously.

Even so, looking at those pictures caused another wish to come up from inside her: she wanted to contact her friend. No matter how many excuses she used or how much time had pass, she wanted to talk to her. Kaori wanted to feel that Shimoto was back in her life, even if it was through a phone call. There was one problem though: she didn’t know how to use Facelook, so it was impossible for her. Whenever that thought arose, she turned sad and went back to her chores.

One afternoon, Natsume didn’t have any plans: as midyear tests were close, the club trained less to have more study time. That afternoon, she came back soon from studying with Sacchan and was resting on the living room. Kaori looked at her daughter: she was still texting her girlfriend.

-How can it be?- exclaimed Kaori jokingly. -You’ve just been together a while ago, and you still text each other?

-Come on, mom- answered Natsume smiling. -It makes us happy.

That was true: Natsume and Sacchan felt so comfortable and happy just by being together and Kaori knew that. The mother giggled a bit and walked away until she noticed something: her daughter was using Facelook.

-Hey, what are you doing in Facelook?- asked Kaori innocently. -Is that how you text each other?

-No, we usually use Rine, another app- answered Natsume-, but I was telling her I saw on Facelook that the hood’s library will have sales soon and just sent her the image’s link in case she wants to go after the tests.

Kaori didn’t understand half of what her daughter said, but she got one thing clear: she knew how to use Facelook.

-So then… can’t you use Facelook to… talk to someone else?- asked Kaori.

-Sure you can- answered Natsume. -You can text other people if you want.

Those words made her mother excited.

-How do you do that?- kept asking Kaori, but she couldn’t hide her enthusiasm this time.

-Well…- asnwered Natsume a bit nervously. -Come here, I’ll tell you. So this is Sacchan’s profile, right? See this bubble icon, like those in manga? I press it and these are the messages. I hit this box and I can write the text with the keyboard.

-But you and Sacchan are friends- interrupted Kaori. -What if the person I want to talk to is not my friend in the app?

-Well, it depends on each person- kept explaining Natsume. -Some ask first for a friend request before texting, but others allow you to text them from the beginning. For example, Sacchan introduced me to a woman she met in her old town, miss Nakamori. There was a blue button here saying “Send friend request”. I wrote a short text explaining who I was and well, Sacchan already told her about me, so she added me as friend.

All that felt right, but it wasn’t what Kaori exactly wanted.

-So, isn’t there any way to… directly talk to that person? I don’t mean a message, but like a phone call- asked Kaori a bit disappointed.

Natsume remained silent, thinking for a moment.

-I don’t think you can do that in Facelook- answered Natsume. -If you had that person’s Rine contact, you could, because that app allows phone calls, but you need their nickname or phone number. The only option would be that this person wrote their phone number on their profile.

-Wait, you can do that? How?- asked Kaori.

-Look, this is miss Nakamori’s profile. Since she runs a library, she wrote the library’s phone number in case someone wants to call her. See? Right here, next to the address. See it’s blue-colored? If I click it… now my phone app opened with that same number, and now I just click the call button.

Kaori felt a sudden happiness when hearing that. She couldn’t remember if Shimoto had her phone number in her profile, but that possibility made her happy.

-There’s someone in Facelook you want to talk to?- asked Natsume.

That innocent question made her mother blushed like a tomato.

-No, well, yeah! I mean, I was browsing the other day and found… a page for old students of my highschool year… and I recognized some faces and thought I could call them to remember old times. But that’s so stupid, right? Doing that after so many years…

-Why not?- asked Natsume. -If you miss your highschool friends, you should call them. I’m sure they’ll be happy to know about you.

That kid didn’t know, but those words resonated inside her mother’s heart. She was right: there was nothing wrong with trying. There was nothing wrong in reaching an old friend to remember their highschool years. Kaori caressed her daugther’s hair, murmured “Thanks” and left to prepare dinner.

Some hours later, Kaori was inside her room. First things first, she had to check if Shimoto put her phone number in the app. She had check that profile so many time to see her pictures, but she didn’t noticed that. Kaori pressed the phone screen with her trembling fingers, closed her eyes for a second and then…

-It’s there! It’s really there!- exclaimed Kaori softly.

Under her address, Shimoto put her phone number, and just like Natsume explained, it was blue-colored. She clicked it and… good, the phone app she knew appeared on screen and Shimoto’s number was there, ready for calling. She only had to press the big green button, but when she realized what she was doing, she began to tremble.

-Am I really calling her? I haven’t even thought what to say- thought Kaori. -Besides, it’s too late, maybe she’s sleeping, right? But she will probably be so busy during the day, and I can’t call her on weekends because she may have plans, or… what if she doesn’t remember me? What if she doesn’t want to talk to me?

Kaori’s breath felt heavier the more nervous she got. She wished to do it, but fear paralyzed her. All her thoughts were interrupted by the sound from Natsume’s door. Kaori opened her door and saw her daughter going downstairs dressed in her pajama.

-What’s wrong, dear? I thought you were sleeping already- whispered Kaori from her door.

-I was studying a bit before sleeping, but I was thirsty- answered Natsume with tired voice. -What about you?

-Me? I… was looking at… calling a friend, but it may be late- whispered Kaori.

-Nah, it’s not that late, right? I just went to my room earlier for studying- answered Natsume. -I don’t think there’s anything wrong. Good luck with that.

After those words, Natsume went downstairs and Kaori closed her room. “You should call them. I’m sure they’ll be happy to know about you”. How could Natsume say those innocent, yet happy words? Still nervous, Kaori closed her eyes and clicked the button.

One ring. “Come on, answer, please”.

Two rings. “I hope she’s not sleeping. Will she get mad?”.

Three rings. “It’s taking some time, right? Maybe I should hang…”

Click.

-Hello? Ameyama here. Who am I talking to?

Kaori’s mind emptied instantly. A woman’s voice answered her. Somehow, she didn’t expect an answer, making her speechless.

-Hello? Is anybody there?-kept asking the woman.

-Eh… I, well...- stuttered Kaori. -Are you Shi… Shimoto… Ameyama?

-Sorry, not interested in any sale right now- answered the woman at the other side of the phone. -Internet, TV, whatever…

-No, wait, it’s not that!- exclaimed Kaori nervously as she didn’t want her to hang up. -I… I’m Ka… Kaori Oogashi… from Ikigekisora Highschool…

Nothing else but silence. Kaori checked her phone: the call was still on, but she didn’t hear anything. Were there any problems? Or maybe she got it wrong? She was already preparing an apology when:

-Kao… chan? Are you… Kaochan?- asked the women from the phone.

Hearing her own nickname cause a delightful warmth to engulf her body.

-Shimocchi? Is that you?- asked Kaori.

At first, all she heard was a low noise which turned later into a very loud laugh.

-Oh my stars!- exclaimed the women in the phone while laughing. -I can’t believe it, it is really you, Kaochan! Gosh, you can’t imagine how happy it makes me to hear your voice!

Shimoto’s laughing made Kaori laugh well. It really was Shimocchi, as that was her usual and contagious laughing.

-Yeah, it has been a long time- said Kaori.

-Seriously, this is incredible! How long has it been? Twenty years or so?- asked Shimocchi cheerfully.

-Yeah, more or less- answered Kaori while removing some tears from her eyes. -It’s just… I found our old pictures from highschool the other day and began thinking about…

-Pictures? Oh, right, wait a moment!- exclaimed Shimocchi.

All Kaori could hear was a bunch of rush noises and loud steps. She heard “It must be around here” from afar, and after a while, Shimoto took the phone again.

-Here it is! The album we made back then. Wow, so many memories here! This picture with the two of us is so great, right?

Kaori knew what picture she was talking about. She picked it up from one of the drawers where she kept her clothing and looked at it with affection.

-Yeah, this picture is fantastic- said Kaori while smiling.

After that, the two women spent a long time talking about pictures and memories from highschool. Kaori didn’t know if she was talking aloud or not, but she didn’t care: at that moment, there was nothing else in the world but both of them. After a while, Shimoto exclaimed:

-Geez, is it that late? I’m sorry, Kaochan, but I gotta work tomorrow.

-Right, I’m sorry- apologized Kaori while feeling a bit sad. -I shouldn’t have called you this late, but…

-Are you kidding? You can call me at any time, day or night, got it?- answered Shimoto.

Kaori felt nervous: she had to hang up, there was no option, but she didn’t want it to end.

-So… Are you OK if I… call you any other time… to talk more?- asked Kaori.

-Of course! I’m looking forward to it. You can call me at night at this time. And if you don’t, I will call you! Well, if you want that of course… It’s just… talking to you made me so happy, Kaochan- explained Shimoto.

Kaori couldn’t help but smiling sweetly with those words.

-Me too, Shimocchi- answered Kaori. -Don’t worry then, I’ll call you every few days. And hey, apologize to your husband in my name for disturbing so late.

Kaori didn’t know why she said that. Maybe it was a habit from talking with her neighbors.

-Husband? Ha!- laughed Shimoto. -Don’t worry, I don’t have any partner right now, so you aren’t disturbing anybody, especially me!

-Oh, well! Then good night!- said Kaori.

After saying goodbye and hanging up, Kaori left the phone aside and lied on her futon. That was the happiest moment she had lived since Natsume’s return, but it was also the happiest moment from a long while ago. In her head, that last sentence resonated:

-I don’t have a partner right now…

-Hehe, she doesn’t have a partner- murmured Kaori smiling before falling asleep.